April 27, 2014 by bodnantgarden

Alpine gardening – The new rock ‘n’ roll

It’s official – Bodnant Garden rocks! A TV crew from BBC Gardener’s World visited us recently to film our alpine beds. The programme is following a couple developing their own garden and brought them to Bodnant for inspiration. The show will be aired later in the year (and don’t worry we’ll keep you updated). Area supervisor Bill Warrell took part in the filming, helped by gardener Gemma Hayes, who has developed the rock garden on the Top Rose Terrace.

Bill Warrell being filmed for BBC Gardener’s World

Designed and developed by Gemma, the Alpine Garden has been around three years in the making and it’s really coming into its own this year. The display of beautiful gentians and iris this spring has drawn many an appreciative gasp from visitors. It’s come a long way from an area of waste ground, as you can see:

The Alpine Garden in March 2012 (left) and gardeners Gemma and Mark extending the plot in March 2013

Here are some of the sights in the Alpine Garden right now:

Gentiana acaulis and Iris ‘Little Shadow’

Phlox subulata ‘Scarlet Flame’, Arenaria grandiflora and Pulsatilla turczaninovii

Rhododendron burmanicum, Antirrhinum sempervirens and Iris ‘Cherry Garden’

Daphne cneorum and Paeonia cambessedessii

Phlox bifida ‘Ralph Haywood’ and Pulsatilla haleri subsp.slavicahaleri

The dry Alpine Garden is a lovely new addition to Bodnant. Basking in sun on the formal Italianate terraces of the garden, it is very different to the damp, shady, wilder world of The Rockery in The Dell – which also caught the eyes of the Gardener’s World team. They spent some time there filming the plants which tumble down the valley side alongside a cascading stream. The Rockery was also recently filmed for a BBC Chelsea Flower Show special – when garden designer Mathew Childs visited Bodnant in search of ideas for his show garden. That programme will be aired in May.

We’re looking forward to seeing both our very different rock gardens on screen. It’s good to know they have inspired others…come and visit, maybe they will inspire you too.

The Alpine Garden and The Rockery

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

April 19, 2014 by bodnantgarden

Perfect place for a picnic – teddies optional

If you’re heading to Bodnant Garden this Easter holidays don’t forget the picnic blanket because, by popular demand, we’re now open to al fresco dining for the first time.

Gardeners testing out the picnic spot in The Old Park… with their Easter eggs (any excuse for chocolate)

We’ve got four perfect picnic spots already picked out. Visitors can head for the Old Park and spread out their blankets in the meadow among wildflowers, grasses and butterflies; the newly opened Yew Dell with its tree canopy, stream, pools and log seating; The Dell with its famous waterfall, green lawns and giant trees (with the added bonus of a nearby café in summer and log fire in winter); or the grassy glades of Chapel Park.

If you don’t want to walk that far there are already picnic areas among the trees in the car park with benches and views towards the garden. Or for more traditional dining there is also the Pavilion restaurant in the car park, the Magnolia tearoom close to reception and a refreshment kiosk in The Dell.

Property mananger William Greenwood says: “It’s a new venture and we will be trialling it this season to see how it goes, but I’m sure it will be welcome by many, many of our visitors. All we ask is not to picnic on the terraces or formal lawns to help maintain the views, peace and tranquillity for everyone, but instead try one of our favourite spots.”

Picnic in the grassy glades of Chapel Park overlooking The Poem

Allowing picnics into Bodnant Garden is another step towards making the garden more enjoyable for everyone. In the last year opening hours have been extended (now open all year), new areas have been opened up, including the Old Park and Yew Dell, and there are plans to open more in the coming years.

Added to that, by popular request a new refreshment stop has been added in The Dell and a new toilet block near the garden centre. Bodnant Garden is also organising more family events and special interest activities and recently launched a dogs-welcome policy at certain times of the year.

Picnic under the canopy of giant conifers in The Dell (above) or try out the log seating in the Yew Dell (below)

The popular Cadbury’s Easter Egg Trail will be running again this Easter, on Easter Sunday and Monday. There are also a host of activities for families and adults. For full details contact the garden office on 01492 650460 or see the website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnantgarden

April 18, 2014 by bodnantgarden

Spring puts on its best bonnet this Easter

Happy Easter Bank Holiday everyone! It’s not all about the chocolate though…it’s about new beginnings, and where better to celebrate that than in the garden. If you make it along to ours this holidays there are some wonderful spring sights in store – and if you can’t make it we hope these pictures will bring you closer.

We’ve got beautiful blossom as far as the eye can see but the rhododendrons are the stars of the show right now, like this Rhododendron davidsonianum framed perfectly against Magnolia x soulangeana and a blue sky.

You might also like to join our celebration of these dazzling plants in our Rhododendron Festival, from April 17 to May 22, which includes walks talks and workshops from April 17 to May 22.

Pulsatilla halleri subsp. slavica and Tulipa ‘Maytime

Ceanothus ‘Trewithen Blue’ and Omphalodes cappadocica ‘Cherry Ingram’

Kerria japonica and Osmanthus delavayi

Erithronium ‘Revolutum,’ and Amelanchier lamarckii

Viburnum carlesii and Exochorda x macrantha ‘The Bride’

Chaenomeles ‘Spitfire’ and Prunus ‘Shirotae’

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

April 11, 2014 by bodnantgarden

Let’s hear it for rhododendrons!

To many people rhododendrons are a common sight in our parks and gardens, as British as cream tea on a summer’s day. But think again – many of our beloved rhodies are in fact Asian, just like that traditional cuppa!

Bodnant Garden is famous for its rhododendron collection and we’re holding a month-long festival to celebrate the foreign plant which has found such a place in the hearts of British gardeners. From April 17 to May 22 there will be walks, talks and workshops.

The plants you see at Bodnant today have come a long way from their native habitats and have a fascinating story to tell about the history of British gardening. Many were brought back by Victorian and Edwardian plant hunters who braved hostile terrain, disease and war in their pursuit of this ‘new’ shrub.

Rhododendron ririei, a species rhododendron grown in Bodnant Garden from seed collected by plant hunter Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson in the early 1900s. It flowers early, in February and March.

Rhododendrons are native to Asia, America and Australia but most are found in the Himalayas. Britain went rhododendron mad in the late 1800s when they were first brought back from China by intrepid plant hunters and soon they began to fill our stately homes, public parks and back gardens. Bodnant Garden’s owner in the early 1900s, Henry McLaren, was an avid plantsman who sponsored these botanical expeditions. He was originally advised not to plant rhododendrons because it was thought they were too exotic but it turned out they were well suited to the Snowdonian landscape!

Rhododendrons in all colours, shapes and sizes…Rh. albrechtii, ‘Rh. ‘Narcissiflorum’ and Rh. stenopetalum ‘Linearifolium’

Rh. ‘Varna’, Rh.’Janet’ and Rh.’May Day’

He bought a collection from famous plant hunter Ernest Wilson in 1908 which forms the basis for the thousands in the garden today. In 1917 he employed George Forrest to bring back many more; McLaren and his head gardener Frederick Puddle began breeding Forrest’s rhododendrons to create more than 350 hybrids, called the Bodnant Bloody Reds for their rare colour.

Today Bodnant Garden has one of the finest collections of species and hybrid rhododendrons in Britain which brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to the garden each year. The spring display is just incredible – all colours of the rainbow, some as big as trees and some as small as heathers, and ones suited to all terrain. So come along and learn more about this surprising and ‘exotic’ plant – or just enjoy the show.

Bodnant Garden property administrator Rose James among the rhododendrons

Rhododendron Festival (no charge but booking required)

April 17: A History of Bodnant Rhododendron Hybrids, guided walk, 2-3pm

April 24: Photographing Rhododendrons, workshop by award-winning local photographer Pierino Algieri, 10am-12pm and 2-4pm.

May 1: Choosing Rhododendrons for your garden, masterclass at 2pm.

May 8: Propagating Rhododendrons, workshop with Bodnant Garden Centre’s propagator, 10am- 12pm

May 15: The Plant Hunter’s Legacy at Bodnant, guided walk, 2-3pm with expert Ted Brabin.

May 22: Rhododendron and Garden Art, workshop with artist Hilary Leigh on sketching and painting, 10am-12.30pm

For more details about Bodnant Garden call 01492 650460, check out our website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BodnantGardenNT

April 7, 2014 by bodnantgarden

Celebrate Easter at Bodnant Garden

Spring has come early – the daffodils are out, the blossom is bursting and we’re looking forward to an egg-stra special Easter at Bodnant Garden (sorry).

After a mild winter we’re enjoying a dazzling spring floral display and preparing to welcome visitors with a host of holiday activities – including popular Easter egg hunts for children.

It’s a bit different to this time last year, when North Wales was under a deluge of late snow after suffering a long, cold, wet winter. Our neighbours at National Trust Chirk and Erddig had to draft in sledges for their Easter egg hunts! This time round we’ve had a mild winter and the garden has exploded with spring colour. The show of camellias, magnolias, cherry blossom, our famous rhododendrons and swathes of daffodils is stunning.

Of course it’s not quite Easter yet, but so far so good and we’ve got a fun-packed programme of events to offer visitors…so fingers crossed for the weather.

There is a full programme of activities for families during the two-week Easter holiday period. We’re also launching a month-long Rhododendron Festival, which offers walks, talks and workshops for adults celebrating the garden’s famous plant collection.

Whether hunting for plants, bugs or chocolate eggs, families can enjoy Easter trails at Bodnant Garden

Easter events at Bodnant Garden:

Sat 12 – Sun 27 April (every day from 10am-4pm): Plant It, Grow It, Eat It – Visitors can drop in and plant a pumpkin seed in a pot to take home and grow on. No extra charge. No Booking Required.

Tuesday 15 and 22 April: Pond Dipping (12-3pm): Families can have a go at ‘dipping’ in the Lily Pond using nets and jars to examine water wildlife (before returning it safely!) No extra charge. No Booking Required.

Sun 20 and Mon 21 April (10am – 4pm): Cadbury’s Easter Egg Trail – Children do an ‘eggsplorer’ trail around the garden, collecting stamps in their passport to bag a chocolate egg. Cost £2 per child. No Booking Required. There will also be facepainting in the Cadbury gazebo and an Easter Bonnet Competition with judging and prize giving at 3pm on the Monday.

Thurs 17 April: Launch of Rhododendron Festival with a walk and talk from our expert taxonomist on A History of Bodnant Rhododendron Hybrids, 2-3pm. No Extra Charge. No Booking Required.

Thursday 24 April: Photographing Rhododendrons – a workshop delivered by award-winning local photographer Pierino Algieri as part of our ‘I Love Bodnant Garden’ photography competition. Booking required for time slots 10am-12pm and 2-4pm. No Extra Charge

Friday 25 April: Bat Walk – Discover the bats of Bodnant with expert Cathy Wuster of Gwynedd Bat Group, 8-10pm. Booking Required. No Extra Charge.

Saturdays April 12, 19 and 26: Story telling in the Pin Mill every Saturday at 2.30pm. No extra charge. No Booking Required.

Easter events, including the Cadbury’s Easter Egg Trail, will be going on at National Trust properties across Wales. For full details contact Bodnant Garden on 01492 650460, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden or the NT Wales website at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/local-to-you/wales